Café Cortina Celebrates 50 Years

Café Cortina, is celebrating its 50th Anniversary with “A Timeless Table,” a year-long tribute to five decades of culinary excellence, family legacy, and community connection. Founded in 1976 by Rina and Adriano Tonon, Café Cortina began as a rustic country trattoria tucked inside a former apple orchard in Farmington Hills. Long before farm-to-table became a national movement, the Tonon family was quietly cultivating their own ingredients, honoring Italian agricultural traditions, and creating a dining experience rooted in warmth, authenticity, and human connection. Today, under the leadership of the family’s second and third generations — including Chef Ernesto Antopia and Café Cortina’s tenured culinary and hospitality team — the restaurant remains a popular destination for elevated Italian cuisine and immersive hospitality. The celebration begins with the 50th Anniversary Founders Dinner Series: La Notte Di Famiglia on Monday, March 16th. This one-night celebration features: historic dishes recreated from Café Cortina’s earliest opening days; family storytelling from founder Rina Tonon and special guests; and wine pairings from Tonon family’s ancestral region of Vittorio Veneto. The 50th Anniversary will continue throughout 2026 with a series of immersive events, including: The Culinary Evolution — a collaborative dinner with chefs and wineries for the Annual Spanish Dinner, June 29; Cortina in Fiore — an outdoor food, wine, and arts festival for three days in Traverse City, September 17-19; Una Notte d’Oro — a black-tie Golden Gala celebrating Detroit’s creative community, culinary arts, and Café Cortina’s enduring legacy, November 2.

30715 W. 10 Mile Road, Farmington Hills  cafecortina.com